Hershey Bears eye Albany River Rats

Former Albany River Rats Keith Aucoin and Bryan Helmer and former Hershey Bears Oskar Osala and Jonathan Paiement face their old teams in the East Division finals.

Those are natural story lines.

But much of the on-ice story of the best-of-seven, scheduled to begin Saturday night at Giant Center, figures to play out on Hershey’s blue line.

It will be no surprise if Albany head coach Jeff Daniels models the approach used by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers against Hershey in the first round.

Clog the neutral zone and pack it in deep in the defensive zone to better take time and space from Hershey’s overwhelming forward cast. Put the onus on Hershey’s defense corps, which no longer features John Carlson, to generate offense.

“They play a similar system [to Bridgeport] through the neutral zone,” Bears head coach Mark French said Friday. “They both play a 1-3-1.

“There’s a similarity in how they play in the defensive zone, as well. They’re a team that collapses a little bit. It will put a point of emphasis on our D getting shots through, as well as our forwards getting to the front of the net.”

The River Rats, boasting a full-force roster with parent Carolina not making the Stanley Cup playoffs, swept Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the first round.

Paced by Jerome Samson, who scored five of his 37 regular-season goals against Hershey, the River Rats pose a more formidable defensive challenge than Bridgeport did.

“We have to be ready to go,” Aucoin said. “They’re a whole new team. They’ve got all their guys back now.”

Albany gave Hershey trouble early in the regular season. But the Bears won the season series 6-2-0-0, outscoring the River Rats a collective 36-14 while winning the last five meetings.

Albany goalie Justin Peters, 6-3-0 in nine appearances with Carolina, has gone 4-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in the playoffs.

The 23-year-old, 26-18-2 in the AHL regular season, has weathered previous years where he played well but didn’t get much offensive help. Aucoin was a teammate during Peters’ rookie season in 2006-07.

“Petey played really hard,” Aucoin said. “He kept us in most games, though we didn’t give him much goal support. I could have told you that year that he was going to be a goalie that was going to be up on the rise the next couple of years.

“I know he did really well when he was in Carolina this year, and I’m really happy for him. He’s a guy that works hard and he’s mentally tough.”

Washington shipped Osala, a member of last season’s Calder Cup team, to Carolina at the NHL trade deadline. The winger played one regular-season game against Hershey.

“It was kind of funny the first time,” said Bears winger Francois Bouchard, Osala’s former linemate. “Now it’s playoffs. It’s not a one-guy team; we’re going to be playing against the Albany River Rats, not just Oskar.”

Bouchard recorded five goals and four assists in eight games against Albany. The second-year pro, who played just 11 of 22 playoff games last season, had an impressive series against Bridgeport where he showcased playoff-level intensity and toughness.

“He’s going to those battle areas willingly,” French said. “Defensively, he’s been strong. I like where his progression has taken him, through this year as well as what we’ve seen in the short term in the playoffs.”

The line of Bouchard, Kyle Wilson and Ashton Rome produced three goals against Bridgeport and frequently generated momentum with strong shifts.

“Sometimes it’s not about just scoring,” Bouchard said. “It’s just working hard, and sometimes you give momentum to your team and the next line’s going to score a big goal.”

NOTEBOOK

The last time Hershey and Albany met in the playoffs was 2006-07 in a first-round series won in five by the Bears. Aucoin played for the River Rats. “I think it will be a little different, a little strange,” Aucoin said. “I know a few of those guys still, and I know the whole coaching staff. I’m happy to see the organization win a series the way they did.”

Due to Albany’s playoff roster depth, Paiement didn’t play in the WBS series.